Argonne-West contract in play

A nuclear reactor test site in Idaho, which the University of Chicago has run for the federal government since 1950, will be combined with another federal lab nearby and the management contract will be put up for bid, the Department of Energy announced.

Known as Argonne National Laboratory-West, the Idaho facility serves as the demonstration site for basic nuclear research conducted by west suburban Argonne National Laboratory, which also has been run by the university for decades.

At this point, it isn't known how the reorganization will affect the main lab and about 400 nuclear researchers there, or whether the university will bid to keep the Idaho facility under its wing.

"The synergy between the two laboratory campuses has been an essential element in the success of the program," says a university spokesman in a statement. "The University of Chicago takes pride in its role as manager of the program in Idaho and Illinois and is committed to pursuing a viable program that is in the best national interest."